McKINNEY RECEIVES SCHOOL-RECORD 4TH BIG SKY PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Jan 19, 2015

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- For the second time this season, and fourth time of his career, Sacramento State senior guard Mikh McKinney was named the Big Sky Conference men's basketball player of the week after leading the Hornets to a pair of home wins and sole possession of first place in the league standings.

McKinney, who earned the award on Dec. 15 and on a pair of occasions last season, becomes the first Hornet in school history to earn four career Big Sky player of the week awards. DaShawn Freeman (2002-06) and Alex Bausley (2003-07) received the weekly honor on three occasions as the Hornets joined the Big Sky in 1996-97. Making the four career awards even more impressive is McKinney has accomplished the feat in less than three years after transferring to Sacramento State from Ohlone College prior to his sophomore season.

The Hornets' wins came against Idaho and Eastern Washington, and Saturday's win over the Eagles was a first-place showdown between the league's top two teams.

McKinney finished the week with averages of 23.0 points, 8.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game while shooting .563 (18-32) from the field and .545 (6-11) from the 3-point line. He played 39 minutes in both games, and set or tied single-game career highs in points (32), 3-pointers made (5) and assists (12).

In Thursday's win over Idaho, the team co-captain scored a career-high tying 32 points, which included 27 points in the second half. McKinney helped the Hornets overcome a 41-33 halftime deficit by shooting 10-of-14 from the field, 5-of-5 from the 3-point line and 2-for-3 from the free throw line in the second half. In fact, McKinney scored 27 of the Hornets' 46 second-half points, and 21 of the team's first 26 points of the second stanza. It was McKinney's 3-pointer that gave the Hornets a 73-70 lead with 3:45 to play, the team's largest lead since the 11-minute mark of the first half.

In Saturday's victory against Eastern Washington, the Union City, Calif., native finished with 14 points and a career-high 12 assists to go along with six steals in 39 minutes. He finished the game 6-of-13 from the field and posted a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (12 assists, three turnovers). The 12 assists are tied for the sixth best single-game mark in the program's Div. I era (1991-pres.).

In 16 games this season, McKinney is averaging 17.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.9 steals per game while shooting .532 (108-203) from the field. His .532 field goal percentage is the best mark among all guards in the Big Sky, and he has scored at least 11 points in 14 straight games. His average of 2.94 steals per contest is tied for the second best mark in the nation.

Sacramento State (11-6, 5-1), off to its best Big Sky start in school history, returns to action this week for a pair of road games. The Hornets will play at Idaho State on Thursday, and at Weber State on Saturday. The first-place positioning in the standings is the latest in the season the Hornets have sat atop the Big Sky.